Kalkan Information

Introduction

The kalkan is a round shield or buckler used in Turkey and neighboring areas such as Poland and Iran from the 12th through the 18th centuries. The kalkan comes in many forms, including wood, metal, and wicker. I think the wicker ones are most interesting, so that is what this essay concentrates on. I'm also pretty much limiting myself to the 16th and 17th centuries in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire

I have been compiling information on kalkans for quite a while. A good friend use to say the perfect is the prisoner of the impefect, and in that spirit, I aim to get informaion now, and add to it over time rather than waiting to ge everything perfect. Suggestions are most welcome.

Should see a reference to a kalkan in a book that is not shown here, consider sending me the citation and other details and I will add to this list. If you are a a museum with post cards of kalkans, please consider mailing one to me. I hope to continue gathering information on kalkans and add to this web site.

I'd also invite you to send me postcards of any of kalkans that you may come across.

Background Information

Table of Kalkans that I have come across:

Unique ID Photo Location Diameter (cm) Ring Type Date Workmanship Source(s)
100 Khalili Collection 58.8 Concentric don't know don't know Rogers #103
101 Topkapi Palace Collection 59.5 Concentric XVIc (second quarter) don't know Atil #98
102 Topkapi Palace Collection 59.0 Concentric XVIc (middle) don't know Atil #99
103 Topkapi Palace Collection 62.0 Concentric XVIc (middle) don't know Atil #100
104 Topkapi Palace Collection 64.0 Concentric XVIc (second half) don't know Atil #101
105 Topkapi Palace Collection don't know Concentric don't know don't know Atil #102
106 Polish Army Museum (Warsaw) don't know Continuous XVIIc Turkish Wasilkowska #25
107 don't know don't know don't know don't know don't know don't know
108 need Military Museum of Great Poland (Poznan) don't know don't know XVIIc Turkish Zygulski (1982) #269
109 National Museum, The Czartoryski Collection (Cracow) don't know don't know XVIIc (Fourth Quarter) Turkish Zygulski (1982) #270; Zygulski (1992) #62
110 don't know don't know don't know don't know don't know don't know
111 need The Collection of the Wawel (Cracow) don't know don't know XVIIc (end) Turkish Zygulski (1982) #272
112 don't know don't know don't know don't know don't know don't know
113 National Museum, The Czartoryski Collection (Cracow) don't know don't know XVIIc (pre-1683) Turkish Zygulski (1982) #VII; Zygulski (1983) #36
114 need The Collections of the Wawel (Cracow) 61 don't know XVIIIc (first half, probably) Armenian? Banach #35
115 need The Collections of the Wawel (Cracow) don't know Concentric don't know Armenian Workmanship? Szablowski #250; Zawistowski p263
116 need The Collections of the Wawel (Cracow) don't know Concentric XVIIIc (first half, probably) Armenian Workmanship? Szablowski #255 & #256; Zygulski (1982) #271
117 need The Collections of the Wawel (Cracow) 64.5 Concentric XVIIc (second half) Armenian? Szablowski #257 & #258
118 need The Collections of the Wawel (Cracow) 58.5 no rings XVIIc (second half) Turkish Szablowski #259
119 don't know don't know don't know don't know don't know don't know
120 need The Collections of the Wawel (Cracow) 60 no rings XVIIc (early) Persian? Szablowski #260 & #261
121 don't know don't know don't know don't know don't know don't know
122 The Collections of the Wawel (Cracow)? don't know no rings XVIIc (pre-1683) don't know Zygulski (1983) #37

Constructing a Kalkan

Materials

Wooden Center 8”x8”x1” piece of wood (I used ash because I had it on hand. Beech or birch would be better choices.)
Boss 8”x8” piece of sheet metal (I used mild steel, free from an old PC)
Wicker 200’ of ¼” round cane (about $15)
Wicker Wrapping 1# of B-50 Dacron bowstring material (about $20)
Liner dark blue or black velvet
Padding
Rosettes
Decorative Nails
Leather Straps

General Notes & Comments

At this time, I have two partially finished kalkans gathering dust in my basement. I have yet to complete one. I first tried making one with a 10" center and a 30" overall diameter. After completing three of ___ rings, I gave up and decided upon an 8" center and 24" overall diameter. I have completed eight of ___ rings of this one.

I've come to the conclusion that I should find someone in Eastern Europe or Asia that is making these for the tourist trade and purchase one that way. I don't know if kalkans are available this way, but they should be, they are gorgeous!

Wooden Center

  1. Plane the board down to the correct thickness. I used ¾” on my second one – that is about right for an 8” diameter center. My first one was 1” thick for a 10” diameter center. I should have used 7/8” thick for 10” diameter.
  2. Find your center point.
  3. Put your drill guide on your board & align with the center point.
    10" Diameter Core Drilling Guide 8" Diameter Core Drilling Guide
  4. Using an awl & light hammer, mark the center point for each of the 360 holes around the edge.
  5. Using a drill press & a 5/64” hex shank bit, drill the 360 holes you marked above.
  6. Mark your outside diameter using a compass.
  7. Cut out the disk from the board just outside the line drawn above. A band saw is ideal for this, but I suppose a coping saw would work too.
  8. Sand the disk down to the line drawn above. An electric bench sander makes this task a snap. At this point you should have a wooden disk with 360 holes around it like this

  9. Using your shaping guide as a template, mark & shape the slight convex curve to the disk.
    10" Diameter Core Profile Shaping Guide
  10. Put a 1/8” radius along the top & bottom edges of the disk
  11. Sand the whole disk smooth.
  12. Wipe with a tack cloth to remove all dust from the disk.
  13. Seal the disk using tung oil or a similar finish. Congratulations, you’ve now finished the wooden core to your kalkan. It should look like this:

Wicker & Wicker Wrapping

I chose red as the overall background color of the thread. In the small sample I’ve seen, red was the most common. My first batch of thread was a nice deep red, almost bordering on a purple, which would have been ideal. When I ordered a full small of the same color from the same vendor from the same reseller, the color was a bright red. Not what I wanted, but it is what I am using.

Because the wicker I used had some stiffness to it, I soaked it in hot water and sort of tacked it onto a wooden frame (picture to follow) which encouraged it in the right direction. If I were working it green, I think this would be unnecessary.

Sometimes continuous strips of wicker were used, and sometimes the rings were concentric (like stacked rings). I indicated this in the "Ring Type" column. Some of the remaining ones I just need to carefully look at the pictures I have.

I don't think this changes the convex properties in anyway.

Compute the number of times a thread needs to pass through the same hole. To do this, add the diameter of the center plus two times the diameter of the reed. This is the overall diameter of the after the first piece of can is added. Multiply by π (3.14) – this is the length of the outside edge of the first piece of reed. Multiply this by the number of wraps of thread you need to cover one lineal inch. Divide the result by the number of holes (360) and you’ll get the number of times you need to put a thread through each hole (you’ll probably want to round up if you get a fraction). Example: 10” (diameter of wooden disk) + ½” (diameter of the cane multiplied by two) = 10 ½” 10 ½” * 3.14 = 32.97” which is about 33” ? 33” * 30 (the number of wraps of thread I need to make a lineal inch) = 990 wraps 990 wraps / 360 holes = 2.75 wraps per hole -- which I translated as 3 threads per hole In retrospect, after my first one, I’d divide the final number by two so the threads are at about half density, that way as you wrap the next ring you fill the 50% left open on the innermost ring, and roughly 50% of the next outermost ring.

Begin Weaving

  1. The first ring is the hardest. I decided to use concentric rings, so I cut a length of cane a couple of inches longer than the circumference of the circle.
  2. Give the cane a light sanding to eliminate the roughness.
  3. Cut a 7’ or so piece of thread and tie it to the reed.
  4. Begin stitching the thread in a “figure eight” pattern. Go in through hole in the top of the center disk and out the bottom. Go between the cane and the disk and around the cane. Come back through the top hole again. Your piece of thread won't last long and you’ll need to tie it off regularly and begin with the next piece of thread and the next set of holes. Vary the number of times you go through a hole to balance out the wrapping. There are 60 triangles of 6 holes each around the edge. I started several inches into the piece of cane so that I’d be more comfortable by the time I got to the more complicated process of joining the ends together. When three of the triangles are completed, it should look like this.

  5. Continue around the circumference until you have a couple of inches left.
  6. Splice the ends of the cane together.
  7. Continue wrapping until you have completed the circle.

The next most vital part is the second ring. As I mentioned in the article, I started a 10" one first. I tried concentric rings with it. basically, I did like figure eights between the first ring and the second ring. I used a lap joint to complete the circle and I used gorilla clue (a polyurethane glue). A more correct way would be to use a v-splice and hide glue. The vee splice was used in horn bows and would be plenty strong enough to do this. I wasn't as familiar with hide glue when I made the ten inch one.

The 8" one I started was made with a continuous piece of wicker (well, 10 or 20 feet in length). I stared with the continuous figure 8 wrapping pattern, but a friend suggested a Conair QuickWrap (http://www.conair.com/product_info.php?products_id=43&pcID=1_80&CAsid=086fb96a4\ a3dc043d454a836e83c9a31). I used that to wrap several coils in relatively short order. The device itself had to be filed out a bit to fit the wicker, but that was easily done with a file or Dremel tool. This wraps only a single piece of wicker, but it enables you to then stitch/lace that continuous piece about every inch or so with those figure eights.

Continue weaving

  1. Pick out another piece of cane and cut it to the right size.
  2. Begin wrapping it with thread.
  3. You want to completely cover the inner ring and cover about 50% of the next outer ring. Use the same “figure eight” knot as above. You will occasionally need extra wraps on the outer ring.
  4. Continue around the circumference until you have a couple of inches left.

  5. Splice the ends of the cane together.
  6. Continue wrapping until you have completed the circle.

  7. Repeat until you achieve the outside diameter of the kalkan that you are seeking. Three times the diameter of the inner disk is about right, so an eight inch diameter wooden disk would require about a 24 inch diameter shield.
OK, this is as far as I’ve gotten in the actual making of the kalkan, I’ll have more intelligent comments in a month or so when I finish weaving the rings. Introduce New Colors Occasionally introduce a new ring color. The will be done as above, but they must be carefully tied together so the neither color thread appears on its opposite color. Weave in designs

All of the shields I’ve seen have beautiful designs woven into them. I think it was likely that the significant parts of the design were woven in at the same time the predominant color was woven in, but that the detail work was done last. I'm planning to skip the detail on the first ones, but I may change my mind later. I’ve seen examples of geometric designs, stylized plants, clouds, and verses from the Koran in Arabic script.

Remember, the Poles carrying these were nobles and it is likely that the Turks carrying these were also nobles. I realize not all nobles were rich, but the pancerni and hussar ones equipped themselves and had either some amount of disposable income and/or access to war trophies. There isn't an easy way to make a wicker kalkan in a faster way except for making them one solid color and that doesn't save too much time. The word kalkan simply means shield in Turkish. I suspect that simple, dished metal kalkans were provided to some lesser Turkish troops (like janissaries).

Please understand, I tried to recreate a kalkan as I believe they were actually made. An easier way is to obtain a basket of the right size & shape, and use that as a base. Then use silk thread and weave/stich your design into the basket. Another alternative is to take a dished shape, say a metal shield or even a sledding disk, and glue some rayon cord to it. This would not give he right texture/grain, but it looks decent at a distant.

Boss

Liner & Padding

Plates & Straps

Adornment

These shields were often highly decorated. The bosses were inlaid with gold, silver, gems, etc. Even ordinary ones had brass or bronze rosettes. The silk covered rings always had ornate designs woven in with contrasting colors.

Conclusion

Well, hopefully at this point you have a wicker kalkan to compliment your Eastern European or Western Asian kit – or at least you are convinced you could do it. I have heard there is an NVG fighter using one of these covered in leather quite successfully. The silk was supposed to be arrow and possibly bullet proof. Silk is used instead of Kevlar by some east Asian police forces.

Annotated Bibliography

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